Little green house on the Bowery

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the sneak preview party for a fabulous new green home supply store, Green Depot. Dozens of green building enthusiasts, fellow editors and bloggers, and the spirit of William S. Burroughs were also in attendance. Green apple martinis made with organic vodka were served, natch.

Brooklyn-based Green Depot has been around since 2005 serving the green building community with several BUILD stores and distribution centers. The new flagship store on Manhattan’s (in)famous Bowery is the company’s first lifestyle-oriented LIVE store where consumers are able to get a piece of the action.

The LEED-certified LIVE Store was gorgeously green to say the least. Located on the ground floor of a historic building — former home to the Big Apple’s first YMCA and later a haven to boho scribes and artists like Mr. Burroughs and Mark Rothko — the 3,500-square-foot retail space was teeming with green home goodness (all products for sale are tested to meet the company’s stringent environmental protocol). To be honest, there was so much goodness that I got a bit overwhelmed. The cleaning product refill station alone, “Cleaners on Tap”, (see pic below) left me feeling like I had found my own personal xanadu.

Other highlights of the store include extensive eco-friendly paint,cabinetry and flooring options, green garbage cans (and home compost bins) galore, interesting gift items, a well-stocked baby section, an easy-to-follow, icon-based “Green Filter” labeling system, and perhaps most important, a non-patronizing staff. Prices are just as non-threatening — a mammoth bottle of their house brand dish liquid is a steal at $5.

Green Depot’s sleep-deprived and truly touched founder, Sarah Beatty, was on hand to address last night’s crowd. Even though this kid-in-a-candy-store was slightly distracted by the Recycled Wine Bottle Glasses and Mike Miller’s Silhouette “Found” Art (pic below), I noticed Beatty’s speech was filled with optimism for the future of green housekeeping and eco-living in general.

Green Depot opens for business today. And if you can’t make it down to the Bowery, the company’s online store just launched as well. I have a sneaking suspicion feeling that I’ll be a regular. Green Depot, 222 Bowery Street, New York, NY 10012. 212.226.0444.